Monday, August 13, 2012

And Then Lots of Cake

Hey family,

Well, it was pretty weird this last week with the passing of my birthday in the
mission. I felt like it was any other day of the week until the very end of the
day. My plan was just to not tell anyone, just let it all go by without a
single word. Someone found out and then
in the house of one of my recent converts, we had a little party. Ok, it was a
party without being a party, because it was Sunday. We started out as a little
gathering with a hymn and a prayer. Then we just ate chicken, French fries, and
then lots of cake.

My pension was really great too. She bought me a big cake that was super
delicious. Then she gave me a bottle of
men’s cologne. It really smells super good. So I was pretty happy with her for
that. She loves us a ton and helps us. I am always thinking that it must be
impossible to be her. She lives a life
that is so difficult. Her husband leaves for work at 7:00 in the morning
and doesn’t get back until about 9:00 at night. So she is raising her three
little kids by herself and they are a handful. Then on top of that she
has to cook every day for the missionaries.

How has been this last year of my mission since my last birthday? I think that
this has been the time that I have learned most on my mission how to be a good
teacher of the gospel. I know that I am not the best teacher in the whole world.
I know that I still have a lot of room to improve. I do feel like I can really
get the message across to the people that we are teaching. I have learned that
the Lord really does bless those that are obedient to his commandments. I have
learned that revelation from God often times comes in the most unexpected forms
and often times it is not what I was thinking at all. I have learned that there
is no limit to the love that we should show to our neighbors. They are in great
need of the truths that we have. Why not
just give them the light of the gospel?

I have thought about
it many times in my mission, what is it that I am looking forward to? It’s
funny that you would ask me that Mom. I think that the biggest thing that I am
looking forward to is the look in your faces when I walk through the airport. I
expect Dad and Mom to start to cry. I look forward to you all commenting on my
features… like if I am taller than you all thought, or if I have gotten even
more devilishly handsome. I look forward to hugging all of you but most definitely
mom first of all. I look forward to the many stories that I expect to hear and
tell about what has happened in these last two years. I look forward to going
out to eat with the family not because of the food but more because I miss the
company of you all at home. I look forward to going to Disney Land a lot
because I just want to spend my time with the family doing things that we all
love to do. I am really, really looking forward to sharing spiritual knowledge
with the family, talking about the gospel, and reading the scriptures as a family. I am
worried, however, that I will be reading the scriptures in Spanish while you
guys are reading in English, but I guess that does matter all that much.

I find that most of the time I forget that I am coming home in two months
because I am so occupied with all of the other things that I need to do. I have
seen being a zone leader as a blessing and a well…………….. Lesson. I think that
the Lord wanted me to be a zone leader so that I could help out not just the
people of Peru but also the missionaries. I was thinking about it the other day. When I finish my mission I will have been a
zone leader for almost one whole year of my mission, I think just short one
months and a half. The life as a leader is really hard but I think I do better
under pressure, maybe for that reason, the Lord placed me in this position for
so long. I just hope and pray that these last two months goes by quickly but
with a ton of success and baptisms. I will work up to the very last day. I
can’t stop until they take away my plaque, and I fall to the earth tired and
exhausted. Alright maybe not that bad, but still figuratively speaking it
sounds cooler like that.

Dad you know you are the man! I miss you too but hold off a little longer
Papito, don’t worry when I get back the moment it will be biblical.